This week Halo Legends was released on DVD and Blu-Ray.  I must admit that I don’t really play first person shooters.  And everyone tells me that Halo is the best of the best.  I have dabbled in the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty franchises and I even downloaded N.O.V.A. for the iPod Touch.  They are fantastic games, but I can’t play them more than 20 minutes at a time.  However, I do watch the cut scenes for many FPS on YouTube.  So, when I heard about this, I thought that it was just going to be a collection of new Halo cut scenes, until I heard it was going to be similar to how Animatrix was to The Matrix.  That got me interested.

The release is comprised of 7 animated short stories.  Each story delves into part of the Halo canon.  Fleshing out some things, and shedding light onto others.  Each episode was done in a different animation style.  Fans will appreciate that the material in the stories are canon.  Fans will like the episodes The Package and The Babysitter since they add to the mythos of the Spartans.  My favorite episode was The Duel.  I liked the animation and the story was a classic.  The Duel also gave you insight into the workings of the Covenant.  But I believe that most fans already know that the Covenant is not as monolithic as one would think.

Overall, I enjoyed watching it and I think anyone whose a fan of animation will appreciate this collection of stories.  I know most of the fans of the game will already have this, I would still recommend it for everyone else.

According to Rich Johnston at bleedingcool.com  this could be the new Aqualad from a rumored “Young Justice”  animated feature from the folks at DC.

Source:  Marvel.com

There are some places you just don’t mess with. Wakanda is one of them. And this Saturday at 8:15 PM on ABC3 Australia, “The Black Panther Animated Series” will show you why!

Deep in the heart of Africa lies Wakanda, an advanced and unconquerable civilization. A family of warrior-kings possessing superior speed, strength and agility has governed this mysterious nation as long as time itself. The latest in this famed line is young King T’Challa, the great hero known worldwide as the Black Panther.

Here’s a preview of Episodes 1 and 2 from The Black Panther Animated Series:

Episode 1: Jan 16 at 8.15pm on ABC3 in Australia

In a top-secret Washington meeting, Intelligence Agent Everett Ross briefs the government on the history of the Black Panther, the warrior king of the African nation of Wakanda. Meanwhile on the other side of the world, the Black Panther must compete to defend his throne in hand-to-hand combat. Featuring the voices of Djimon Hounsou, Kerry Washington, Alfre Woodard and Jill Scott.

Episode 2: Jan 16 at 8.42pm on ABC3 in Australia
Having been crowned the new Black Panther, T’Challa must contend with jealousy in the royal court while searching for the man who murdered his father. Unbeknownst to him, a deadly assassin named Klaw is assembling a team of super-villains to attack Wakanda.

Marvel Animation and BET Networks team up to create this epic animated mini-series featuring classic Marvel characters like Captain America
and the Juggernaut in a taut politically charged thriller. For over four decades, fans have eagerly awaited a series adaptation of the first black super hero!

Official Press Release

As the voice of Black Lightning, LeVar Burton adds another level of fanboy cache to a cast thick with legends of the super hero genre in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 movies.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies boasts a cast headed by the definitive voices of its three central characters – Kevin Conroy (Batman), Tim Daly (Superman) and Clancy Brown (Lex Luthor), the original voices from the landmark Superman: The Animated Series and Batman: The Animated Series.

Burton is forever beloved by the sci-fi crowd for his memorable performance as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation and its feature film versions. However, Burton has done far more than go “where no man has gone before.”

In a career that essentially launched with his breakthrough performance in the landmark miniseries Roots, Burton has garnered seven Emmy Awards, three Image Awards, a Peabody as well as a Grammy, and in 1990 was permanently enshrined as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Along the way, Burton has been a virtual fixture on television screens – from his 176 episodes of Next Gen and 150 episodes of Reading Rainbow, to another 41 episodes of The $10,000 Pyramid and 58 episodes as Kwame in Captain Planet and the Planeteers. Along the way, he has also directed several episodes of the last four Star Trek series (The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise), appeared in feature films (most notably as Martin Luther King, Jr. in Ali), and even spent some time in the recording booth for Batman: The Animated Series, Gargoyles and Family Guy.

Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to release the all-new Superman/Batman: Public Enemies on September 29, 2009 in a Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def edition, a special edition 2-disc DVD, and a single disc DVD. Warner Home Video will distribute the action-packed movie, which will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download that same day.

Burton’s turn as Black Lightning brought him back to the recording booth – and while he was there, he took the time to discuss the joys of playing a super hero, his childhood comic book memories on a military base in Germany, the importance of reading, and the use of sci-fi as an inspiration for our future. Here’s LeVar …

QUESTION:
Was it difficult to settle on a voice for Black Lightning?

LEVAR BURTON:
I think everybody has a super hero that lives inside of them, so I just went to that place, that deep kind of super hero voice.

QUESTION:
What were your comic book habits as a kid?

LEVAR BURTON:
I grew up, part time, in Germany. My father was in the military, so we used to trade comic books for entertainment. On Saturdays, you took your box with all your comic books and you went around from apartment building to apartment building, trading comic books with the other American kids living on the base. Television was in German (language), so we didn’t watch TV – we read comics. But this was before black super heroes came around – they didn’t start appearing until the ’70s. So it’s mildly exciting for me to actually have a chance to play a black super hero today.

QUESTION:
Choose one: Batman or Superman?

LEVAR BURTON:
When I was a kid, it was always Batman over Superman. Batman had all the cool stuff, and he just had a vibe. Superman was the All-American guy but, with Batman, there’s a little something going on. Batman’s history was a little edgier, and there was just something really attractive to me about the cowl. Superman is all out there, even though he does the Clark Kent thing, but Batman keeps his identity hidden. He has this double life that’s very sexy, very attractive for a kid. Not that I didn’t like Superman – the whole kryptonite thing is all well and good – but Batman was my guy.

QUESTION:
What makes comic books great literature?

LEVAR BURTON:
People ask me all the time, because I did Reading Rainbow on PBS for 25 years, “How do I get my kids to read?” And I say, “Find something that they’re passionate about.” If it’s comic books that they want to read, then buy them comic books, for goodness sakes. Comic books are good literature and, like science fiction, they have a tendency to really draw us toward that part of ourselves that imagines that which we create.

I’m one of those people that believes that there was some kid back in the 1960s watching Star Trek, and he kept seeing Captain Kirk pull out this communicator and flip it open – and that kid grew up and became an engineer, a designer of products, and we now have a device that is more common than the toaster. How many flip phones do you see on a daily basis? That which we imagine is what we tend to manifest in third dimension – that’s what human beings do, we are manifesting machines. The metaphor of a man who has an external electronic device, something man-made that serves him and somehow serves humanity, and that he becomes so aligned with that device, with the power of that device, that at one point he can discard it – I think that’s a real metaphor for the human journey. One day we won’t need a transporter device to get from one place to another. And it begins with the wheel and then migrates through airplanes to some future technology that we can’t produce yet but we can imagine. Imagination is really the key part of the human journey, it’s the key to the process of manifesting what our heart’s desire is.

When I was a kid, it was comic books that pointed me in that direction and from comic books I went to science fiction literature, which is still one of my most favorite genres of literature to read. Don’t underestimate the power of comics and what they represent for us and how they inform us on the journey of being human – because it’s powerful. It’s very powerful. They give us permission to contemplate what’s possible. And in this world, in this universe, there’s nothing that is not possible. If you can dream it, you can do it.

QUESTION:
Can you appreciate the passion of the sci-fi fan?

LEVAR BURTON:
Oh yeah. Because I am one. When I was a kid, I read a lot of science fiction books and it was rare for me to see heroes of color in the pages of those novels. Gene Roddenberry had a vision of the future, and Star Trek was one that said to me, as a kid growing up in Sacramento, California, “When the future comes, there’s a place for you.” I’ve said this many times, and Whoopi (Goldberg) feels the same way – seeing Nichelle Nichols on the bridge of the Enterprise meant that we are a part of the future. So I was a huge fan of the original series and to have grown up and become of that mythos, a part of that family, and to represent people dealing with physical challenges, much like what Nichelle Nichols represented for people like Whoopi and myself, I can’t even begin to share with you what that means to me. It was just beyond the beyond. So I get Star Trek fans, I get science fiction fans because, again, science fiction literature is that body of literature that causes us to ask what I feel are two of the most of the most powerful words – in sequence, in language – “what if?” And that’s an open door, that’s an open door to use your imagination to dream and to dream the big dream. As an actor, I dress up for a living and I get paid for it so, to see a guy come to a convention in his costume that he’s made – it’s a good thing, you know. This guy isn’t out there beating his wife or kicking his dog, he’s engaging in a healthy fantasy role-play. I think too many grown ups forget how important that part of our lives are, the ability to imagine and to dream. So it’s all good.

QUESTION:
You’re Black Lightning for this film. If you could play any super hero role, do you have a role you covet?

LEVAR BURTON:
Well, I’ll start with Black Lightning. That ain’t a bad place to start. I mean, come on, if you’re going to play a super hero, why not play the first real black super hero in the pantheon? I’m good with that.

QUESTION:
Does voiceover work have any special appeal for you?

LEVAR BURTON:
I love voiceovers because, and I’m sure you hear this from actors all the time, but it’s kind of pure acting. For many years on Next Gen, I wore this visor over my eyes and one of the things that I discovered was that it’s really difficult to communicate, or it’s harder to communicate, when you can’t see someone’s eyes. As a result of playing Geordi, I really do recognize how important the voice is – and what a facile tool for communication the voice can be. When I was kid, we listened to radio a lot for entertainment and I remember how vivid that was for me. To this day, I listen to NPR and I love doing audio books – because it’s like it’s pure storytelling. It’s sitting around the fire and sharing stories, really engaging your imagination. So, as an actor, sitting in front of a microphone and creating is just so much fun because it really does break it down to its most pure and elemental level. It’s just you and the voice and the character telling a story.

QUESTION:
Does it ever feel odd to be acting all alone?

LEVAR BURTON:
Well, during the physical parts of the voiceover, when you’re doing all the action scenes, I think if you were an alien and dropped into a recording studio and were observing a session, you would really wonder about the sanity of the beings that you are observing. But it’s fun and it feels a little silly, but that’s what gets it done. When they’re in that mode, I think actors are just big kids – and we like playing in the sandbox.

For more information, images and updates, please visit the film’s official website at www.SupermanBatmanDVD.com.

Here’s the trailer for the Planet Hulk animated feature from SDCC. The film is based on the epic and critically acclaimed story from Incredible Hulk #92-105.  The film is set for release in Feb 2010.

In a Q and A sessions on CBR  Marvels Editor in Chief Joe Quesada (and new Chief Creative Officer of Animation) gave an update on the Black Panther Animated series.

“Since you’ve been involved in various Marvel animation projects, by chance have you heard any new developments about BET’s Black Panther animated series? There were some casting announcements a few months ago, but nothing since then not even a release date. Can we still expect it by the end of 2009?”

Joe Quesada:  I’m sort of coming into this in the middle and just got a DVD of the first episodewhich I plan on watching on my flight to SDCC. That said, I asked [Executive Producer] Reggie Hudlin what the status of the BET Black Panther animates series. He wrote back: “There’s a lot I can’t say, but we are deep in production, and there’s some great new additional casting that I can’t talk about right now. The series is now covering in more material than was in the original six issues, which has caused some production delays. So it won’t be airing this year. That said, the cast sports some all-star talent, including: Djimon Honsou as T’Challa, the Black Panther; Kerry Washingtonas Shuri, sister of T’Challa; Alfre Woodard as the Queen Mother and Dondi Reese; Carl Lumbly as Uncle S’Yan; and of course, Stan Lee!”

Creators Mshindo I and Gregory Walker and producer/voice artist Wesley Snipes will officially launch their animated science-fiction project, Zulu Mech 1, at Book Expo America in New York on May 30.

Walker, also known as Brother G, is the author of the Shades of Memnon trilogy, developed as a swords-and-sorcery series with an African consciousness. Mshindo I, who has also worked as Mshindo Kuumba, is a graphic artist whose work has included children’s books (Food Adventues With Charles the Chef) and graphic novels (The Fringe).

The basic plot of Zulu Mech 1 involves a kind of a reversal of the Planet of the Apes idea, with humanity as the Earth’s far-future successor civilization. Zulu Mech 1 is set in a utopian near future in which world nations are at peace and Africa is a prosperous united state, only to be invaded by strange, highly intelligent creatures called The Elder Race who come not from outer space, but from inside the Earth and who seek to return to world to the way it was before the dawn of humanity and their own self-destruction. The Elder Race seem unstoppable; in a final effort the Mthunzi family from South Africa stand against them and forge the heroic giant robot Zulu Mech 1.

“It’s Africa-based sci-fi,” explained co-author Brother G. “The Elder race is based on traditions of many African peoples that there was a creation before this creation, a world before this world that was destroyed. And the Zulu Mech is based on African practices involving spiritual ‘totems’ or power items, ancestor communication, and tapping into the power of the Earth. There are also heavy doses of nano-technolgy, advanced metallurgy, and other high-tech elements. I love the Transformers and Terminator, etc., but it’s time we had epics from another perspective. This is truly sci-fi for the age of Obama!”

Mshindo I noted that there’s more that’s unusual about Zulu Mech besides an African sensibility. “I am also a fan of giant robots; so it was great creating Zulu Mech 1,” he said. “As a mechanical creature ZM1 seems similar to other famous mechs, but believe me, he is something different. Zulu Mech 1 is unique, he is a Spiritual Cybernetic Organism.”

“I think the world will be just as pleased as I was when Brother G and Mshindo brought this ground-breaking adventure series to my attention,” said Snipes, who starred in the Blade trilogy. “Everybody knows I love sci-fi and there is really nothing like it on the market. Zulu Mech 1 can easily stand next to other epics like Star Wars on the strength of the story telling alone. But when you consider that it brings a fresh, untapped perspective to sci-fi, that really makes it hot.”

The unveiling will take place in the Expo’s African American Pavilion.

Press Release

The street date for Green Lantern: First Flight, the fifth entry in the popular DVD series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies, has shifted to July 21, 2009. A co-production of Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation, the illuminated hero’s first-ever full-length animated film will be distributed by Warner Home Video. Green Lantern: First Flight will be available as a special edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def for $24.98 (SRP) and $29.99 (SRP), respectively, as well as single disc DVD for $19.98 (SRP). Order due date is June 16, 2009.

Everybody under the age of say 15 whose not a heavy comic reader,  thinks that John Stewart is the Green Lantern because of the Justice League cartoon.   I hope they at least give him a cameo in the film.   So far so good with the straght to DVD films by DC.   The recently released Wonder Woman was a great.  Hopefully this film will be just as good.   The trailer at Yahoo has me hopeful

New Mutants is a new ongoing series by writer Zeb Wells that begins in May and features the classic characters from New Mutants, including Cannonball, Magma, Sunspot, Illyana, Xi’an, and Dani Moonstar. The artist will be Diogenes Neves, most recently seen on X-Men Worlds Apart
The entire Ultimate line will be cancelled, sent off with a number of “Requiem” specials, and re-launched as Ultimate Comics.

“Planet Skaar!” begins in May. “Skaar (The Hulks Son) is finally going to come to Earth. He will slash straight to the heart of the Marvel Universe. Big things are going to happen.” The project begins with a May-shipping “Planet Skaar” prologue. The series begins in earnest in “Skaar” #11, although Pak suggest readers begin with the imminent Silver Surfer arc. Ron Lim will draw the Surfer arc, “Skaar” #8-10. It’s called “Silver Savage.”

Cryptic showed a demo of Champions On-line a superhero MMO.
Quesada’s BS answer on the price of comics  -  Why are the prices of comics so high? Quesada: “There’s an argument. When you look at the amount of work that goes into a comic book. We tend to ghettoize ourselves. We do everything we can to keep our prices down. But we live under this crucible that comics used to be ten cents. But when you look at the amount of effort and manpower and artistic talent that it goes into it, it really is a miracle that we can produce them for $2.99 and $3.99. There are lots of other places to go for artists and writings to make more money. But the truth of the matter is I remember handing a comic book to an executive who was dumbfounded that we could produce it for $2.99. I think we suffer from that. I’m not saying we should be charging twenty bucks an issue, but we do work really really hard to keep it at $2.99 and $3.99.”

Part of Brian Michael Bendis’ new contract involves him and Quesada consulting on the Marvel Studios films. The pair recently met with “Thor” director Kenneth Brannagh.

Luke Cage Mini series is in the works.

Spider-Woman comic to be releases in print and as a digital motion comic on itunes.

Wolverine and the X-Men” increased the Nicktoons viewership by 808% from last year in its first episode and 1055% in its second. A DVD of the series’ first arc will see an April 21st release, subtitled “Heroes Return,” and a second season of 26 episodes has been green lit for the show.

“Iron Man: Armor Adventures” which premiers on Friday, April 24th on Nicktoons

Marvel is releasing  “Dark Reign: Young Avengers” which finds the title characters thrust into a role they’re not used to playing. “This is a story about what happens when the next generation come along, and suddenly you aren’t the new young thing,” Cornell stated. “When you find yourself saying ‘if only you kids would calm down and listen-’ It’s the YAs finding themselves as the unlikely voices of order rather than the rebels, and being variously uncomfortable with, annoyed about and accepting of that.”

Post R.I.P. BAt-titles (with my guesses on who in what book)

- Batman
- Batman and Robin
- Red Robin
- Outsiders
- Batgirl
- Batman: The Streets of Gotham
- Gotham City Sirens

Battle for the cowl is basically is pretty much a three-way battle between Tim Drake, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd

Dollhouse is a show where certain types of people (who are called ‘Actives’) have had their individual personalities erased so they can have different types of personalities implanted. Why is this happening? Because there are apparently lots of deranged people out there with deep pockets willing to pay big bucks to have someone be anyone they want.

Didio gives the reading order for RIP and Final Crisis (why do this after you confused everybody, personlly I think it took him this long to figure it for himself). THe story started with the first issues of “R.I.P.,” going to Final Crisis #1, and then the last issue of “R.I.P.,” Batman #681, then moving to Final Crisis #3. After that falls the “Last Rites” story (Batman #682-683), and then Final Crisis #6. The next part after that, somewhat logically, was Final Crisis #7.

Let get this started with the most popular cartoon to debut this year, TMNT to the uninformed that’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.   The cartoon was based on the popular comic book series.    The cartoon was the most popular animated shows of all-time.   It started a pop culture phenomenon that included toys, breakfast cereal, etc.   The  show ran for 10 years, 3 in syndication and 7 years on CBS and aired over 193 episodes.   The show chronicled the adventures of four turtles who fell into the sewers and are befriended by Hamato Yoshi, a Japanese man who fled from New York and had nowhere to live but in the sewers. He was framed by his enemy, Oroku Saki, in a plot to kill the sensei. One day he sees a strange green glow which transforms the four turtles into human-like creatures. Hamato (now Master Splinter) changes into a giant rat from the green glow and teaches the turtles the skills of the ninja as they team up with Channel 6 news reporter April O’Neil to battle against Yoshi’s archenemy Shredder and Krang, an alien warlord from Dimension X. 

TMNT

I forgot about the Bionic Six until I started doing research for the theme week. It was basically a bionic man rip-off, but their primary nemesis Dr Scrab managed to stick in my head more than the rest of the characters. It premiered on April 19th, 1987 and lasted two seasons.   Jack Bennet, a secret agent for the CIA , had taken his family on a trip to the Himalayas. During this trip, Jack is called to duty to investigate unusual magnetic readings. He encounters aliens who are trying to obtain Bertomium, a mineral that can increase bionic abilities and give eternal life to its possessor. In a battle, Jack’s family becomes trapped under radioactive snow and they slip into a coma. Not seeing another way to save their lives, Jack permits Professor Sharp to operate on his family. Professor Sharp implants bionics in human beings, and the Bionic Six are born. Doctor Scarab creates his own bionic group from misfits taken from penitentiaries and asylums.

In this series inspired by the Bionic Man/Woman, the six members of the Bennet family use their bionic abilities to defeat the evil Dr. Scarab and his cyfrons whose goal is to use science for selfish gain. The family members each have special powers: Meg/Rock-1, with sonic disruptors and super speed; Eric/Sport-1, with magnetic powers; JD/I.Q., intelligent and strong; Bunji/Karate 1, martial artist; Helen/Mother-1, with psionic powers; and Jack, a good cook.

I always love the idea of Western set in future like Serenity,   that why I was drawn to this show.   Like most animated shows during this time it was mainly seen as commercial for the BraveStarr toy line.   The toys bombed which meant they had no need for the show so it lasted only one season.   The toys did have a unique gimmick each figure came with a Kerium nugget (I wonder they used for a Kerium nugget).   It premiered on Sept, 14th 1987 on CBS’s slate of saturday morning shows.   Kerium, a rare and powerful magic crystal, brings an infinite number of colonists from all the corners of the galaxy to the distant planet New Texas. Some are good and honest, others very malicious but no one is more dangerous than Tex Hex the leader of the Carrion Bunch, a group of outlaws under the control of the mysterious group Stampede. Hex seeks to control this immense mineral richness at all costs than is Kerium. Only one person can put a stop on his plans: BraveStarr. When there was an obstacle in the way, BraveStarr called for the power of a particular animal and used that ability to move the obstacle, like using the strength of a bear to move a boulder, or the speed of a puma to catch the criminal, the eyes of a hawk, or the ears of a wolf. To help him in the fight for the cause of justice, he had Thirty-Thirty, his horse that can transform into a human-like creature being able to stand on it’s hind legs, talk and fight alongside him. BraveStarr lived in Fort Kerium. His advisor was the wise, elderly Shaman.

Dinosaucers lasted only one season but managed to air around 65 episodes.   Today it would take about 3 years to get that number.  The was about a fleet of anthropomorphic dinosaurs from a planet called Reptilon. The Dinosaucers fought for the good of their homeworld, while the Tyrannos fought for domination of it. When the planet suffered because of the wars, the battle came to Earth, where the Dinosaucers teamed up with four young humans, who became their Secret Scouts in the new world.    The premise sounds similar to the Transformers cartoon.